Australia Expands Armed Forces Exemption

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

12 June 2015

The Australian Government has announced that a full tax exemption will apply to military personnel serving on "non-warlike" operations in the Middle East.

The exemption has been granted to Australian Defence Force (ADF) members serving on operations Manitou, Accordion, Okra (Zone B), and Augury under section 23AD of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. Previously, the full exemption only applied to those serving on Operation Highroad in Afghanistan and Operation Okra in Iraq.

The exemption will be back-dated to the start of each operation. It will also apply to personnel who were previously involved in these operations. Approximately 5,500 ADF members will be affected.

There is no change to the existing tax exemption status for ADF personnel serving on operations Aslan, Mazurka, Palate II, or Paladin.

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